FastFerment conical

[vosperp]

Agreed. I overtorqued two bolts using my electric drill. Slow down the drill speed in the last inch or hand tighten at the end.

I love these. After having broken two glass carboys (user error), I now only use these. I like the fact that I don't have to transfer to a secondary and that the lid is big enough to make dry hopping a breeze. I also modded them to add a tasting spigot. Given their size, have never had to use a blow off tube for a 5.5 gallon batch no matter who rigorous the fermentation.

When transferring trub out, I shoot in co2 into the empty ball. Probably overkill but prefer to be safe than sorry. Makes yeast harvesting very easy.

The beer produced in these has been great. No issues with fermentation or leaks. Do have to make sure that the o ring seal in the bottom of the valve unit is in place (otherwise will leak over the ball). I did not notice that once after cleaning and had a slow drip on the next batch.

Also, there are several parts that you need to teflon tape. Plenty of tape comes in the box and it is really important to make sure that you tape in the right direction and use at least 3 wraps around. I made the mistake on the first one of just wrapping once and got a very small leak. Wrapping three time or more and its tight as a drum.

Also, need to be careful with the lid gasket. If not seated right when you start, it can fall into the fermenter. Good to have some extra bottom o rings and lid seals as well as the little plastic grommet in the lid that seals the airlock. They have a habit of going missing or falling into the beer.

On the wall and set to the right height, they make transferring to a keg very easy. Given the size of the tube from the valve, I would think that bottling would be a challenge though.

On the whole, it has made my process much more streamlined.

 

[vosperp]

Open it at the start. There is no advantage to keeping it closed.

One of the reasons we use conicals is that they encourage the yeast to drop out of suspension. If you are not keeping the yeast active until they have cleaned up any diacetyl then it can be very hard to get them roused and working again, as the conical encourages them to floc out into the ball. If you run your fermentation well then this does not happen

One other thing you can do is attach the racking tube assembly for the first couple of days to let the initial trube out. I have found that if you leave it too long, the trube can block the hole into the ball. Not a big deal, a bit of tapping and turning the valve knob a few times loosens the trube.

 

[jhcoombs]

Hey everyone, new to the brewing world, picked up the fastFerment just before christmas to brew wine, does anyone else have any experinces with this with wine, all i can seem to find is beer?

 

[gotbags-10]

Hey everyone, new to the brewing world, picked up the fastFerment just before christmas to brew wine, does anyone else have any experinces with this with wine, all i can seem to find is beer?

I have used mine with wine as have others. It certainly works fine for it. The only issue I had along with some on winemaking talk is the fine lees when it comes time to bottling. The same as with beer there is a going to be some small amounts of sediment on the sides. With time and tapping the sides most of this goes away but inevitably there is going to be some fine amounts left. With kegging beer this is fine you can just pour off the first pint of beer and dump but with wine you don't want the lees in the bottle. I ran my wine through a 10" sediment filter on the way out and it came out crystal clear. I picked it up at a saltwater fish store for about 30$ and just replace the sediment filter for about 4 bucks each time.

 

[MrKelly]

I have used mine with wine as have others. It certainly works fine for it. The only issue I had along with some on winemaking talk is the fine lees when it comes time to bottling. The same as with beer there is a going to be some small amounts of sediment on the sides. With time and tapping the sides most of this goes away but inevitably there is going to be some fine amounts left. With kegging beer this is fine you can just pour off the first pint of beer and dump but with wine you don't want the lees in the bottle. I ran my wine through a 10" sediment filter on the way out and it came out crystal clear. I picked it up at a saltwater fish store for about 30$ and just replace the sediment filter for about 4 bucks each time.

I haven't made wine in it yet but have many times in buckets and carboys. I always filter regardless so would do the same with the FF.

 

[2Kegger]

So I decided to give this one more try. I followed the suggestions and let it sit for about an hour and then dumped the trub before adding the yeast. It seems to be working very nicely now. Time will tell, but there's still hope! I really want to like these. And by the way, all the issues with leaks and things are gone. I think it just took a few times of screwing it together and taking it apart to work out any rough spots. It seems to seal nice (no air leak at the top) and I don't have to crank the ball on the bottom. It just seals up nice.

 

[augiedoggy]

Anyone try adding a camlock fitting between the ball and tank to avoid messing with the threads? That's the way my older "VVessel" is setup ... It seems like a superior method to me they eliminated to bring costs down. I bought extra stainless 3/4 inch camlockfitings for adrain and fillhose attachment which is also comparable with the plastic camlock.

 

[jbb3]

Anyone try adding a camlock fitting between the ball and tank to avoid messing with the threads? That's the way my older "VVessel" is setup ... It seems like a superior method to me they eliminated to bring costs down. I bought extra stainless 3/4 inch camlockfitings for adrain and fillhose attachment which is also comparable with the plastic camlock.

Would be nice but I think the FF is 1".

 

[augiedoggy]

Would be nice but I think the FF is 1".

Ok here is the 1"

heres the male end for $6
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-A-Trash-P...565028?hash=item5b11acdba4:g:l5UAAOSwEeFVGjs5

and the female end for $11...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-D-316SS-T...004643?hash=item4188621963:g:q5gAAOSwcu5UMmI2


This would allow a person to ditch the union, You would gain a couple of inches in overall length though which would be an issue for some. (the reason fast ferment said they didnt use the v vessel system.

 

[MrKelly]

Ok here is the 1"

heres the male end for $6
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-A-Trash-P...565028?hash=item5b11acdba4:g:l5UAAOSwEeFVGjs5

and the female end for $11...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-D-316SS-T...004643?hash=item4188621963:g:q5gAAOSwcu5UMmI2


This would allow a person to ditch the union, You would gain a couple of inches in overall length though which would be an issue for some. (the reason fast ferment said they didnt use the v vessel system.

Wow, amazing price on those.
So Amazing I would personally steer clear. Stainless steel 316 isn't cheap stuff even in China. And the price includes shipping from China? I would put money on it that a material analysis of it would show impurities you don't want touching beer. But your overall point is still good.

Wouldn't you still need a ball valve? (In which would likely then make one of those female NPT ends now need a male NPT end depending on the food grade valve you find, don't forget). And then another male adapter with reducer down to a hose barb for bottling/ kegging?

 

[augiedoggy]

Wow, amazing price on those.
So Amazing I would personally steer clear. Stainless steel 316 isn't cheap stuff even in China. And the price includes shipping from China? I would put money on it that a material analysis of it would show impurities you don't want touching beer. But your overall point is still good.

Wouldn't you still need a ball valve? (In which would likely then make one of those female NPT ends now need a male NPT end depending on the food grade valve you find, don't forget). And then another male adapter with reducer down to a hose barb for bottling/ kegging?

I have actually bought many pieces of stainless from this same daily deals seller on ebay over the years and the quality is fine... Much of it in fact is the exact same stuff duda diesel sells. I have bought stuff from him as well when I couldnt wait and compared the two... My 1" cam locks in my rims as well as my sight glass came from "daily deals" they have been around a long time and the feedback is very good... I dont have any testing equipment to be 100% sure but its stamped correctly and is identical in color as well as non magnetic. and of course theres been no rust. most of the stainless stuff sold for more in the states is chinese made too...actually every piece of stainless in my brewery including my conicals is from china so... I do see your point but I just dont think its a real concern here.

and any stainless or even plastic ball valve will work fine...The male threaded ended 1" camlocks are actually cheaper too. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-B-Trash-P...656452?hash=item3f3e545f44:g:1DMAAOSwEppUMmDi my V vessel came with a regular 3/4" pvc ball valve from the hardware store when new so... as long as it can be sanitized. and yes the barbed male camlock for a hose would be 8 more bucks...http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-E-316SS-T...004384?hash=item4188621860:g:IWIAAOSwF1dUMmIC

my v vessel originally came with "banjo" brand plastic camlocks... and the cheap plastic ball valve did crack at the threads so I replaced it with a stainless one which works fine.

 

[jbb3]

Ok here is the 1"

heres the male end for $6
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-A-Trash-P...565028?hash=item5b11acdba4:g:l5UAAOSwEeFVGjs5

and the female end for $11...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-D-316SS-T...004643?hash=item4188621963:g:q5gAAOSwcu5UMmI2


This would allow a person to ditch the union, You would gain a couple of inches in overall length though which would be an issue for some. (the reason fast ferment said they didnt use the v vessel system.

Dang. The 1" would definitely work but I'll have to measure as the couple of extra inches may be a problem for my stands. Regardless. Thanks for the parts links!

 

[AkBrew907]

Just ordered one of these, can't wait to get it. Have a stand up freezer I scored off CL that I use for fermenting in. Will build a wooden frame inside the freezer that I can mount 3-4 of these to. Hoping it works out well. Thanks for all the info people have posted from their experiences so far

 

[AkBrew907]

Well it's all setup. Added a valve for taking readings. Hopefully brew here soon to give it it's first go.

 

[mshahan]

This unit has made my brewing process so much easier. The wall mount is awesome, the entire unit is well made. Looking to pick a few more up in the coming months. I would recommend for those looking to purchase one, to get the stand though. It makes cleaning a lot easier than trying to balance it, or holding it up inside another bucket.

 

[larryl]

I've made several batches in mine and am pretty happy with it. I especially like being able to pop the collection ball off after primary fermentation to be able to get the beer off the yeast, and it makes it easy to save and reuse yeast from batch to batch.

The only thing I've had trouble with is bottling from it directly, and that's only because mixing in the priming sugar stirs up any trub that might have settled on the sloped edges of the conical part without making it all the way down into the collection ball. If you are kegging, using priming tablets in bottles, or adding sugar directly to bottles, it's great, but otherwise I think it works better to rack into a separate container for bottling.

I agree with the previous poster that it's worth getting the stand, even if you plan to hang it during fermentation.

Would be nice to have a sampling port, but I see that's available now as an add-on, so I think I'm going to get one.

 

[CPUFixrMan]

@AKBrew907, I like your addition of the sample tap. I want to do something similar.

I picked up two of the FastFerment Conical fermenters during their presale, for myself and my father. He got me started with home brewing. After the change to the new lid seals, and a little trimming of excess plastic, couldn't be happier. I will be starting a Double IPA next. My thermal blanket should be in very soon and that means I will be ready for the summer time. It gets very warm in the Central Valley.

 

[FatCat11cz]

I just had delivered 3 of the temperature control jackets. I have 3 litters of water bottles in the freezer. I will do some testing in the next day or two. I have two fermenter with stands, thermometers and sampling ports. Can't w a it to put them to use. Mom moved in last winter and likes the house very warm. Even in the summer. She can't stand to be cold, but it makes fermentation a challenge.

 

[drbusch]

I've had one of the original V-Vessels and the new version for a couple of years. I mostly like them, although getting them clean can be a bit of a pain. Per the discussion on stands- a 5 gallon bucket (cut in half), a piece of plywood, 3 18" 2x4s and you're in business. Mine are currently cuddled up to a radiator with a blanket over the lot.

The new flat bottoms are helpful.

The sample tap is a good idea and I'll need to get some parts.

 

[The_Bishop]

AKBrew, if I'm looking at that right, you have the valve/union upside down. The valve needs to stay attached to the fermenter when you unscrew the union, or all your beer is going to fall out!

 

[larryl]

Well it's all setup. Added a valve for taking readings. Hopefully brew here soon to give it it's first go.

Yes, like the previous poster said - the union is upside down!

 

[AkBrew907]

Haha thanks! Didn't read directions. Will fix before use lol

 

[CSBudzi]

There are a few reasons you should buy this over other units. Normally I'd give this 4 out 5 stars but I have a few sold separate accessories that make it a 5 star purchase. If you get this I'd recommend a stand, and a strap and the rubber gasket.
1st It's plastic. Metal is heavy and difficult to clean and can scratch up your bathtub if that's where you are forced to clean your equipment like I am. The plastic is thick and durable. No plastic smell (after the first cleaning). No stains after about 10 batches.
2nd Other conicals don't have the collection ball. Fast ferment collection ball makes it a truly closed system. Other conicals will drain the sediment out but will either draw in air from the top or bottom. And that introduces foreign air into the system. Which isn't that big of a deal. Because when its time for secondary the yeast has ideally already taken over the environment in there. But if you really want to eliminate foreign elements this is a good way to go. Also the collection ball is great if you are into saving yeast. And man does it save time not having to clean sanitize another carboy.
3rd the price. It's way cheaper then other conicals, simply put. But like I said you should expect to drop some more money on a couple extra accessories.
4th It comes with separate attachment for bottling/kegging. Includes tubing and pipe thread tape. Nice touch.
Almost everything in life has its downsides. Here are a few I've noticed so far.
It's pretty tall. So tall that putting in a temperature controlled fermentation chamber is tough. I have not tried in an upright fridge yet I admit. My keezer does not fit it well and would need a really tall collar installed to fit this thing. So laggering would be tough with this thing. But I found out they sell a temp control jacket now. So I guess problem solved.
The gasket it comes with works. But it would be nice if it shipped with a rubber more durable gasket. I was a pre release pre order purchaser. So I got one of the first runs of the fast ferment, a few months later they released a rubber gasket. So maybe the new ones ship with that now? Not Sure. But again the one it did ship with still works even after 10 batches.
The thermometer well is at an awkward angle. Not awful but still pointed a little too far down. Minor inconvenience though, hardly worth mentioning. Also there really isn't a better place they could have installed a thermal well anyway.

All in all REALLY great product. Very happy with it. Well thought out and designed. I plan on buying another soon enough. I'm done with other fermenters for now.

 

[jbb3]

It appears FastBrewing is driving folks to this forum to post product reviews.

Bad form FastBrewing!!!!

 

[PeteNMA]

Id like to get in on that offer but I bought mine at my LHBS and they don't list it on their web site

 

[BigHopBrews]

I've been using the FastFerment since the beginning. I pre-ordered 2. They've been my main fermentation vessels since then. One thing I've started doing about 4 batches ago is to mindfully eliminate the amount of troub. Here are the steps I take:

1. When going from the mash tun to the brew kettle I run the hose through a hop spider to catch grain that makes it through
2. I do the same when going from the brew kettle to the FastFerment

Now I only end up with one collection ball of troub and it's easier to harvest/wash yeast.

Happy brewing! CHEERS!

 

[Festmaster]

The $90 is definitely worth it. I have had mine for over a year and have done countless beers in it. So far I have had no issues with it being plastic. I do clean it after every brew to avoid leaching any flavors into future brews. I like it because it is almost everything you need in one vessel. It eliminates other unnecessary equipment. It eliminates the need for a separate primary and secondary fermenter. And if you bottle it also eliminates the need for a separate bottling bucket. It has cleaned up my "brew house". Not only can you cut back on equipment, but this thing saves you lots of time. No more wasting time transferring from one vessel to the next. Swap out a collection ball and you're done! Come time to keg or bottle and you just hook up the tube and you're good to go. The best thing about the fastferment in my opinion is you get cleaner and better tasting beer! Every time you have to open your fermenter and stick a tube in it to transfer to another vessel you risk contamination. With the fast ferment, you never have that problem because you never have to open it and expose your beer. So yes, the $90 is worth the savings in equipment, time and better beer! Great product.

 

[larryl]

For people who bottle directly from their FastFerment: How do you deal with the trub that ends up on the sloped sides of the fermenter that has not fallen down into the collection ball? As soon as I mix in my priming sugar it gets all stirred up into the beer. I end up racking to a different bucket to mix in the sugar.

 

[Festmaster]

I have had this issue before where the trub builds up on the sides. Solution, Just change out your collection ball another time. Yes you may lose a little bit of your beer but I'd rather do that than have all that extra trub get mixed in and ruin my beer. Swapping out the ball multiple times has worked well for me.

 

[Festmaster]

See below

 

[MrKelly]

For people who bottle directly from their FastFerment: How do you deal with the trub that ends up on the sloped sides of the fermenter that has not fallen down into the collection ball? As soon as I mix in my priming sugar it gets all stirred up into the beer. I end up racking to a different bucket to mix in the sugar.

Despite risking an awkward moment if someone walked in on you trying this, but has anyone tried pressing an aggressive vibrator against the side to maybe loosen the trub up?

I keg so don't have this problem. Btw.

 

[pgbrewing]

Despite risking an awkward moment if someone walked in on you trying this, but has anyone tried pressing an aggressive vibrator against the side to maybe loosen the trub up?

I keg so don't have this problem. Btw.

True confessions time: I tried it (don't judge!) but it was relatively ineffective. Also the vibrations tend to release dissolved CO2 so not a good idea. Time and gravity are the only things that work reliably. I also change the collection ball when fermentation is about 75% done. When the valve is opened (gently) after changing the ball, the resulting agitation is helpful in shaking some of that trub loose.

Of all the skills and attributes required for this hobby I have found patience to be perhaps the most important.

 

[AkBrew907]

I haven't used mine but I figure empty the ball once after fermentation is done to empty the trub. Then before you bottle or keg cold crash it to get everything else to drop to the bottom.

Or rack to a bottling bucket, cold crash in that over night.

 

[wet]

I purchased one of these so ill give the pros and cons on this product and answer some of the questions. Pros: it works like they advertised and it does ferment faster. cons: cleanup- you have to really take the unit apart including the ball valve at the bottom and really clean it and re-assemble. it can be a pain. and should be done after each batch. the seal at the top- does not provide a good seal. now as far as temp control and how to use in a chest freezer etc. the stand will work in a chest freezer that is modified to raise the lid of freezer for taps and fast fermenter will fit. with this when doing IPA recepies consider transfer to carboy to dry hop and crash out.

 

[dsniegocki]

True confessions time: I tried it (don't judge!) but it was relatively ineffective.

Maybe the vibrator that you chose wasn't aggressive enough? : )

Also, perhaps time to change your moniker to maybe at least "PG-13 brewing"...

 

[noefite]

I recently started emptying my collection ball a day after brewing to allow the trub to fall to the bottom. I then add my yeast and empty the ball again after fermentation is complete. I usually knock on it a few times as I pass it during the fermentation stage too, but I have no way of knowing if that helps to settle sediment into the ball or not. I have noticed that the collection ball is only slightly full of trub when I remove it prior to kegging, and when I filter my beer it is noticeably clearer on the filters.

 

[AkBrew907]

So I understand if you want to save the yeast the collection ball is handy but if you are just wanting to dump the trub and sediment could you just skip the collection ball and open the valve, dump everything quickly, then close it. you wouldn't have to worry about introducing oxygen when putting an empty collection ball back on and can just add the racking adapter when ready to transfer?

 

[AkBrew907]

If you really wanted to save/harvest yeast do it when you make your starter.

Id just find a threaded plastic adapter to replace the collection ball with maybe a 1" tube attached. dump trub/sed then let sit as long as you want to let ferment. I don't see how oxygen could make it's way in at all

 

[jbb3]

I purchased one of these so ill give the pros and cons on this product and answer some of the questions. Pros: it works like they advertised and it does ferment faster. cons: cleanup- you have to really take the unit apart including the ball valve at the bottom and really clean it and re-assemble. it can be a pain. and should be done after each batch. the seal at the top- does not provide a good seal. now as far as temp control and how to use in a chest freezer etc. the stand will work in a chest freezer that is modified to raise the lid of freezer for taps and fast fermenter will fit. with this when doing IPA recepies consider transfer to carboy to dry hop and crash out.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but you're all wet... Get it!?

For the benefit of any new folks coming to this thread, everything called out in the quoted post above as a Pro and a Con is simply not true nor correct.

First, "It" doesn't ferment any faster. That's all up to the yeast. The name came from the parent company "FastRack". Second, disassembling the ball valve after every use is not needed and could prematurely damage the valve and cause leaking from such frequent dis-assembly/reassembly. Third, racking to a carboy for dry hopping?? Not sure where that came from either. Not needed.

The quoted post above is so inaccurate, it makes me wonder if the FF folks posted it to someone like me to chime in and sing their praises. I won't sing their praises but I will debunk inaccurate statements. I would encourage newbies to read through this thread as well as the other and make up their own mind as there's a lot of good information that has been captured.

If the post above is legitimate, I would encourage you to present your posts as opinion. Otherwise a newbie might read them and think it came from someone who knows what they're taking about...

Cheers!

 

[jbb3]

So I understand if you want to save the yeast the collection ball is handy but if you are just wanting to dump the trub and sediment could you just skip the collection ball and open the valve, dump everything quickly, then close it. you wouldn't have to worry about introducing oxygen when putting an empty collection ball back on and can just add the racking adapter when ready to transfer?

I have not tried this but I don't think it would be a workable method with the FF. When reopening the valve after the first CB change;

1. I have seen it take a few days before the rest of the sediment drops into the CB.
2. The beer flows through the center of the trub. While it flows, it pulls the trub as it flows but not all at once. You may end up wasting a lot of beer before it started to run clear.

As I said; I've never tried it but I'm extrapolating based on what I've observed...